New driver’s license denied to legally married same sex couple

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- A metro woman legally married to another woman in Iowa is denied her driver's license here in Oklahoma.

After getting her named changed on her social security card without any problem, Sara Doolin was turned away by two tag agencies.

Celebrating with same-sex couples across the country, Doolin and her partner Jennifer Maib traveled to Iowa to make their union legal.

With a marriage certificate and new social security card in hand Doolin was turned away at the Bethany Tag Agency. She then tried another one, Red Cap Tag Agency.

"When I went to the second one, we went through, I paid $10, I had my new license,” says Doolin. “They had invalidated my old one."

When they realized two women's names were on her marriage certificate they waved her down in the parking lot demanding the ID back and leaving her with a new teary-eyed driver’s license.

Doolin says, "Every time I hand that to someone it reminds me of what happened."

Just Kudron with Bethany Tag Agency says, “When she came in we felt so bad that we couldn't do it for her.”

Kudron showed us the memo from DPS that says Doolin has to have a court order to change her name which takes time and money all because she's married to a woman.

DPS officials told us it was out of their hands. Oklahoma doesn't legally recognize their same sex marriage.

“All you're really doing is looking at it and saying okay I understand that in Iowa, yes you have had a marriage. That means you have now taken this last name and we can now update your records here,” says ACLU Legal Director, Brady Henderson. “We find examples like Sara’s and they rightfully break our hearts. They rightfully should give us pause and make us step back and say is this actually the Oklahoma way?”

“There are no marriage benefits with your driver’s license,” says Doolin. “I don`t drive gay! I just want to drive with my name.”

Sara says she wants her new name on an Oklahoma driver's license because she grew up here and can't imagine living anywhere else.